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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Special Topics and Great Quotes

I still need to respond to comments (waves!), but I was sitting here reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics in the Very Empty Writing Center (proper name), and decided I should share some delicious quotes. Marisha Pessl's writing is wonderful, and I'm completely lost in the main character's narration.

"It was the cause of many of Dad's outrages, too, when people elected themselves his personal oracle of Delphi. It was the grounds for many of his university colleagues going from nameless, harmless peers to individuals he referred to as anathemas and bete noires. They'd made the mistake of abridging Dad, abbreviating Dad, putting Dad in a nutshell, watering Dad down, telling Dad How It Was (and getting it all wrong)." --pg. 206

And one quote in honor of the holidays...

"So I am thus inspired to good cheerfully inject fuel into the U.S. economy by purchasing things I don't need and can't afford--most of which will have funny little plastic parts that suddenly snap off, rendering them inoperative within weeks--thereby digging myself a debt of elephantine proportions, causing me extreme anxiety and sleepless nights yet, more importantly, arousing a sexy economic growth period, hoisting up droopy interest rates, breeding jobs, the bulk of which are inessential and able to be executed faster, cheaper and with greater precision by a Taiwanese-manufactured central processing unit. Yes, Christabel. I know what time it is." --pg. 194

Katie, I'll definitely let you know. I'm on page 225 and LOVE it so far. If it stays this good I'll have nothing but glowing reviews.

Sarah, it lounged on my stacks for several months before I picked it up. The size was daunting, and the first time I tried, it didn't grab me. I guess I'm thoroughly in the mood for it now because it's got me by the nosehairs!